The Supreme Court of India on Friday overturned the 1967 verdict regarding Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), indicating that the university may qualify for minority status under Article 30 of the Indian Constitution. However, the court has now referred the case to a regular bench for further examination.
n 1967, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled in the case of S. Azeez Basha v. Union of India that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was not a minority institution, as it is a central university.
Now, a seven-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, has delivered four separate judgments in the AMU minority status case, reaching a 4:3 majority decision. Chief Justice Chandrachud wrote the majority judgment on behalf of himself and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, J.B. Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra. Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Satish Chandra Sharma each issued separate dissenting opinions, resulting in four judgments in the case.
The majority judgment of the Supreme Court stated that the question of AMU’s minority status should be determined based on specific legal tests outlined by the court.
History of the AMU Minority Status Case
The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was established through the AMU Act of 1920, originally designating it as a Muslim university. Over the years, this act has undergone several amendments, including a major 1951 revision that removed mandatory religious instruction for Muslim students. On February 1, the Chief Justice of India expressed concerns, noting, “One thing which is worrying us is that the 1981 amendment does not restore the position as it stood prior to 1951.”
AMU was initially founded as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and later elevated to a university in 1920 during the British Raj.
Since then, AMU’s legal status as a minority institution has remained a subject of debate. In 2006, the Allahabad High Court nullified AMU’s minority status, leading to a series of appeals that eventually brought the case before a seven-judge bench in 2019.
Those opposing the minority status argue that AMU’s designation as a central university and its funding from the central government conflict with such a status—a position upheld by the NDA government, citing the Supreme Court’s 1967 S. Azeez Basha decision.
In contrast, the UPA government challenged the Allahabad High Court’s ruling through appeals, with lawyer Kapil Sibal contending that Article 30 of the Constitution grants AMU the right to function as a minority institution, regardless of its central university status or government funding.
Source: msn
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